


Purple and green make an odd combination

by Exar



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Dragonborn (D&D), F/M, Original Character(s), Tiefling, i guess?, im a massive procrastinator, im in need of character development for these 2, im sorry if there is a gap between chapter updates, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-04-24 20:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19180393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exar/pseuds/Exar
Summary: why does everything start in a tavern





	1. Everyone meets in a tavern

It started in a tavern, just how all adventures start.

Veritas, a nicely decorated purple tiefling, was casting magic to entertain those around him and himself.  
Near him, a green dragonborn was getting drunk. Her name; Yesena.  
"Nice sparkles, hornboy." she snorted, drunken amusment painted her face a smile.  
"Thank you, thank you." he bowed, "It's what I do best."

*

It was a day of relaxation for the dragonborn and one of quick coin for the tiefling.

She took her time to clean her scales, sharpen her weapons and rest.  
He took the time to tell people their fortunes for money in return.

*

The same evening was spent like the last; in the same tavern.

"You again, sparkles?" Yesena greeted him.  
"I did so well last time." he shrugged, "Pushing my luck with the crowd."  
"Are magic tricks really the only thing you've got going for yourself?"  
"Sheesh lady, dinner first." he smiled, casting a teasing glance.  
Her laughter reassured him, glad his joke wasn't taken serious.  
"Tell me sparks, what is your name?"  
"Veritas, yours?"  
"Yesena." 

They spent the rest of the evening together, before sleep made them part.

*

Yesena woke up to the knocking on her room's door.  
"We'll be serving breakfast soon." said the tavern's owner.  
"Okay, be right there." Yesena got up, equipping her gear and made sure nothing was left behind.  
With one final stretch she left the room, eagerly awaiting her meal.

/

Veritas woke up to the sound of birdsong.  
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
Breakfast, getting dressed, packing up.  
Today was a day for travel. As easy as fortune-telling was to him, it wasn't a stable income.  
The first few days fetched the most costumers; interest was lost after.

*

Yesena stood in front of the bounty board, deciding which quest to take.  
A figure moved up beside her and without looking spoke.  
"Third time is fate, you know." The familiar voice made Yesena turn her head to the side.  
Her eyes widened. "Veritas? What are you doing here?" surprise laced her tone.  
With a sheepish look, his gaze met her. "Picking a bounty, like you."

A silent moment later, Yesena sighed in irritation.  
Veritas looked up from the bounty he was inspecting, cocking his head towards her. "What's up?"  
Her eyes unmoving from the paper that earned the sigh, she gestured "This."  
"Group of hunched over creatures. Have one eye, spikes on their back..." Veritas trailed off while he read the rest in silence.  
"I've fought one of them before." she lowered her head, "I was lucky."  
She lifted her head, turning to peer into Veritas' eyes. "I'm stronger now, but this is not just 'one'."  
"The pay is nice." Veritas shrugged.  
"I knoooow." The dragonborn lifted her long face, as her shoulders fell in dejection.  
"If you don't mind splittin', I can help you." he offered.  
"You're that confident in your magic glitter?" she smirked, grabbing the bounty.  
With a flick of her head she signed towards the counter, ready to get this quest assigned.  
"You haven't seen what I can do... yet." He caught up to her side.

*

Her sword pierced the eye of a nothic held in place by magical means.  
She watched its body fall to the ground, before focusing her attention onto another.  
As she turned her head she saw one leaping towards her, but when their eyes met, the beast was knocked of course by a small ball of fire.  
Without looking for the firebolt's origin, she leaped onto the nothic with her sword thirsting for blood.

*

Leaning heavily on her sword, the dragonborn looked around; the group of vile creatures was dead.  
Her gaze caught the one of the tiefling, and she huffed which turned into a chuckle.  
The tiefling squinted in glee, a big, but equally exhausted, smile spanning cheek to cheek.  
"That went really smoothly." Veritas mused.  
"Like we've been fighting together for many moons." Yesena replied.

*

There they sat once more together; after splitting the bounty and getting cleaned up.  
Drinks perched in front of them, they shared tales and laughter.

"Where will you go? Doubt you're gonna stay here forever." he questioned.  
"Hmmm. I don't know really, probably north." she shrugged, taking a sip of her beverage. "Why so?"  
"North I can do." he said, staring into the liquid inside his cup.  
"Aww, afraid you'd miss me?" she elbowed him. "Of course you can come along."  
"I was more thinkin' along the lines of helping you not get killed." Smug, his whole face is smug. "Saved you more than once today."  
Yesena opened her mouth to say something, but closed them again, to which Veritas laughed.

*

Together, they would head north.


	2. Traveling is much better when you have company.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wow a new chapter,  
> late as promised
> 
> More bonding time between the only characters that matter in this fic!

Day, night, day, night.

On foot they traveled further north.  
Sharing stories with the other; Yesena spoke of her daring tales and dangerous tavern brawls.  
Veritas told her the interesting futures he has seen, the looks of disbelief on people's faces and how they would come running back after the prophecy came true.  
They shared stories of lucky spelunking and frightful monsters.

Being alone is pleasant some times; but being with someone who makes for good company is so much better.  
Of course the first night was the roughest; a cautious distrust kept them awake, but as time crept by, and nothing 'expected' happened, trust started to form.  
Soon it became one tent that was set up every night; less effort and warmer nights.

Aside from history, they learned each other's skills.  
Yesena was a good hunter, Veritas a good gatherer.  
The dragonborn liked to carve, the tiefling liked to write.  
One easily distracted by the sounds and colours around her, the other too distracted by his own thoughts.

It had only been two weeks.  
Friendship sure can bloom both fast and slow when it wants to.

-

"There!" Yesena shouted over the howling wind and pitter-pattering of rain, pointing toward the mouth of a cave.  
Without words Veritas dashed after her; he'll voice his concerns when they're out of the weather.  
Inside they caught their breath, watching as the rainfall made the faraway tree line a gray silhouette against an ever darkening sky.

"It will only get worse." Veritas mused with a concerned tone.  
"Doubt it'll clear up anytime soon." she replied, dejected. "Goodbye travel-time." Her emotion accented by her dramatic hand gestures.  
Her arms dropped beside her with a huff. "Okay, what do we do now?" she spun around to face him, hoping his answer would be a little more eventful than 'sit-it-out'.  
"Sit it out?" he shrugged, staring into the darkness of the cave.  
"Ugh, nooo thank you." The dragonborn's tail lashed from side to side in annoyance. "I'd rather walk back into that mess and continue than wait around. No offence, your company is great."  
Mock-shocked Veritas raised a hand to his chest. "No offence? I am truly offended. How could you not want to sit and marvel at both my beauty and my talent." he spoke in his snide tone.  
"Pft, you wish you had anything like that, horns." she shot back, amused.

But that amusement quickly faded from her snout as stared into the cloud-ridden sky.  
"I don't like sitting around doing nothing, especially since we could've been on the move."  
"We are not doing nothing." The tiefling adjusted his clothing, as the green dragon-lady gave him a confused look.  
"What?" Yesena squinted her eyes, not believing his words.  
A bright smirk flashed across Veritas' face and before Yesena realized he spoke; "We are waiting. Waiting is not 'doing nothing'."

Yesena looked at him for a moment as the implication struck her; quick as a viper her fist connected with his shoulder.  
"You're awful, I'm going." she hissed, pretending to walk away from him back into the outside world.  
The warrior couldn't see the 'hurt' expression on the fortune teller's face, nor could he see her creeping smile.

The moment passed as Veritas spoke up again. "Do you think anything lives here?"  
"I dunno. We could find out." she shrugged, her eyes catching the worried glint in the other's.  
"I mean, it beats doing nothing and we can take a punch." the lizard continued, "Plus we can punch back harder, together."

Veritas huffed at her comment, but she spoke the truth; they were quite strong together. The wanted and unwanted combat they have faced together proved that much.  
"Alright. A short break, then head in?" he suggested.  
"Aww, your hoofsies hurt?" she mocked, sitting down next to where he stood.  
"I am just taking pity on you. You are too stubborn for your own good."  
"What? No, I'm not." her eyes squinted at him once again.  
"See? Exactly what I said." he replied, a smirk covering his face.  
"Shut up or one of these days I'll cut off your tongue." she hissed, focused on her task; getting a snack.

-

The light of the burning torch danced on the wall as the two adventurers descended further into the cave.  
Veritas peered off into the darkness, looking past the flickering light's reach.  
Nothing interesting.  
Yesena walked beside him, her ears pricked for any potential danger as her mind wandered towards the possible adventures hidden deep within.  
"If it's a monster, what do you bet?" she questioned.  
"It can be many things." Veritas mused in response, "I do hope a full grown dragon is not one of those 'things'."  
Yesena elbowed the tiefling with a grin. "We can take a dragon," she spoke challengingly, "No problem."  
The dragonborn bursted out laughing at the sight of her companion's confused and shocked expression.

They continued in silence for a while longer, Veritas wondered if the rain had stopped while Yesena was too occupied with the idea of potential treasure.  
It took them a moment to notice that the ground underneath their feet was changing from a natural cave floor to one of tiles.  
The walls around them formed in the same way; the round arch of the ceiling and walls turned into walls with sharp corners.  
"Interesting." Veritas whispered, afraid of a hidden threat within.  
Yesena tried not to rush in in her excitement, but her pace noticeably quickened.

Turning around a corner they saw light in the distance and a second later Veritas had snuffed out their own using prestidigitation.  
Slowly they crept forward, praying their gear wouldn't rattle abruptly as the walls became more and more decorated.  
Stone walls carved with wriggling lines.  
Tapestries with strange symbols, people and snakes in time-faded colours.  
Veritas confused.  
Yesena curious.

"What is this place?" Yesena asked in a hushed voice, her claws tracing the carved lines.  
Veritas shrugged, digging his memory for any clues.  
"They sure do like snakes." the dragonborn moved beside him, inspecting the same decoration.  
Relaxing his furrowed brow, Veritas dropped his shoulders, giving up with a sigh.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up, into the amber eyes of his green companion.  
"Do we continue?" she whispered, studying his for any discomfort.  
"Carefully." he replied, determined to figure out this place's secrets.

-

And carefully they went in.  
The armoured warrior had adjusted her pouches and held the hilt of her sword, to decrease the chance of betrayal by her gear.  
The fortune-teller took the lead, with his cloth-bound feet. A downside to having cloven feet; a clop with every step.

To their luck, so far they haven't seen nor heard anyone so far.  
Yet no torch would naturally burn forever.  
"No magic fire." Veritas whispered as a bright green glossed over his eyes. "The tapestries have a hint of magic. Conjuration."  
Yesena exhaled sharply in acknowledgement.

They pressed onward. Turning corners, passing corridors. Veritas feared they might get lost, even though the tiefling tried his best to create a memorable path.  
A strong hand wrapped around his upper arm, nearly making him yelp out of fright.  
With clenched teeth the horned man looked at what grabbed him, only to face the intent staring eyes of his companion.  
Without sound the dragonborn pointed towards her pointed green ears, her gaze never faltering.  
Holding his breath, Veritas listened. There was something, a sound. Too faintly to specify but loud enough to hear.  
With a nod Veritas pressed on, changing course. No longer a path that involved as little corners as possible.

Louder. Clearer.  
Chanting.  
It made the two falter in their pace when they realized what they were hearing; chanting.  
Not in a language they'd understand, nor even recognize.  
A glance at one another. Dread, curiosity and a question in their eyes.  
'Do we continue?' both of them thought, hoping that for a second the other could read their mind.  
Yesena's grip on her hilt tightened while Veritas flexed his fingers. With a synchronized nod, the two interlopers crept in closer.

'It sounds like snakes hissing' Yesena realized, as the chanting grew more audible, more distinct.  
Quickly she tapped her friend's shoulder, who immediately glanced over his shoulder.  
Then followed a few pointing gestures; forward, her ear, a tapestry portraying a snake, her tongue. An intent glare with one question; Understand?  
He looked at her, squinting his eyes in thought, then tilted his head in confusion.  
Again, the dragonborn pointed to the snake, and softly she hissed. Pointing up ahead and to her ear; 'Listen'.  
Veritas listened. His eyes widening with realization, he looked back into his companion's amber eyes. He nodded a few times in rapid succession and was answered with a blink of relieve.

The reptilian watched him stare at the decoration around them, trying to puzzle it all together.  
But she recognized the glint in his eyes; He didn't knew a crucial piece.  
Snakes, and what has to be a cult. No sane religion would hide underground like this.  
The only answer lies ahead; so they crossed corridors, ducked into hallways where the sound grew louder.

After a few moments they had found the source of the chaos; It was here, right around this corner.  
Voices, loud enough to make the walls tremble.  
Voices, too many to count.

His hand found hers. They squeezed; to comfort each other, to comfort themselves.  
Feeling each other heartbeats through their palms; fast, anxious.  
One fearful glance, one steadying breath.  
Veritas peeked around the corner and froze at the sight.

A room with many creatures; Seemingly human males and females, varying in tones of flesh and colours of hair.  
But there were other beings too; more snake like. Men with snake heads, large snakes with arms and even large snakes of varying species.  
Constrictors coiled around pillars, cobras with their hoods flared, rattlesnakes rattling their tips melodiously.  
Colours clashed, blacks against bright oranges. Glistering scales and jewelry.

But that alone wasn't what made the tiefling's heart sink.  
In the middle of this dome shaped room rested a terror of dreams.  
It was a giant snake; a narrow head with black scales, reflecting the light in a rainbow of colours, trailed down its neck till the scales turned fewer and fewer.  
What followed the scales was a layer of skin which crept a short distance down its body before turning into muscles.  
The muscles thinned and thinned; giving way to an unfinished skeleton.

-

She hoped Veritas would tell her what he saw. She had waited for him for what felt like eternities.  
So she took the initiative and peered in and what she saw stole her breath.  
Snakes, so many of them. But all of them paled in comparison to the one in the middle.  
It's size was terrifying. It's broken form didn't help. Yet, the worst part of it all; it was regenerating.  
Dust to bones, creeping flesh and growing scales. Fast enough to notice from a distance, but slow enough to know this ritual will take longer than one needs to run out of this place.

Both outsider assumed it dead until the leviathan moved, raising its head towards the entrance.  
It hissed loudly, a thick black tongue flicking in and out.  
And then, it spoke.  
"Relative. Dragon blood." It tasted the air again. "Presence. Explain."  
It's slitted eyes fixated on the paralyzed dragonborn.

Yesena stared right back. She wished she had continued in the storm, or died before entering this horrendous place.  
There have been times where she nearly died. Smart combatants, vicious monsters, unlucky situations.  
All those times, there was still hope. Still a future to fight for.  
Yet as she stood here, facing a living nightmare, all that hope was drained.  
There wasn't even a future she could think about.  
The dragonborn didn't knew how she would die; but she would for sure.

"Answer."

Instead, Yesena ran and Veritas was right on her heels.

-

Corners, corridors, colours and shades. It all flashed by.  
Yesena dashed into parts she didn't pass before, but she couldn't turn around.  
Furious hissing followed them.

Right, straight, right, left.  
Every corner they hoped would be the last, yet that moment didn't seem anytime near.  
Veritas wished he knew the spells that showed the pathways they needed to take to get out of this place.  
Yesena wished she had the tracking mind of a minotaur.

Doors opened in front of them, beside of them, behind them.  
The hissing grew louder as more of the reptiles joined the chase.  
"Left!" Veritas shouted and without question, Yesena followed his command.  
Another door opened; a quick viper-headed lady shot out to block their path, but the other reptile was faster.  
The metal blade slashed her flesh and wounded, she fell to the ground, hissing in pain.  
The next obstacle felt its flesh scorch as the sorcerer summoned a bolt of fire to distract it.

Torches grew less and less frequent, tapestries less kept, carvings less intricate.  
This gave the two hope; their silent prayers answered.  
Hallways turned rougher and rougher and with one last spell cast behind them, the fortune-teller took the lead once again.  
He saw the marked tunnels when forks came up before his companion did, and with his mind digging desperately for the correct memories, they soon heard it; rain.

They didn't stop when the downpour crashed into them, or when the wind threatened to knock them over.  
They ran north; south didn't have a town for days worth of travel, and if twisting caves or the battering rain didn't stop their pursuers, a forest wouldn't either.  
When both reached their limits, the dared to glance back; and to their relief there was nothing but rain behind them.

Relieved, their pace slowed. Yet they couldn't rest their weary legs just yet. They needed shelter from the elements.  
"Up ahead!" Veritas panted, pointing towards a large stone accompanied by an even larger tree.  
And so, they pressed on even though their bodies protested every step.

-

They huddled closely under the titled rock. Sharing what little warmth they had.  
Yesena draped her partly soaked blanket around them and eventually, they fell asleep.  
But had they known what awaited them in their dreams; they would've chosen to stay awake.

**Author's Note:**

> this is what you do with unused character ideas, right?


End file.
